Draft:John Thompson Peters

John Thompson Peters (1764 – August 28th, 1834) was a justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court from 1818 to 1834.

The Toleration party, a combination of all the elements hostile to the Federalists and the Congregational Establishment, whose watchword was a new Constitution, carried the elections in the fall of 1817. The Constitution, which was adopted in the following year, reduced the number of the judges from nine to five. Owing to the excellence of the old court, and the fact that most of the lawyers, always a conservative class, were Federalists, there was much anxiety to see what kind of a court could be formed by the Tolerationists from their scant material. It was hoped that some of the old judges would be retained; but all were retired by the Tolerationist Legislatures, except Judges Hosmer and Brainard.^[1]

Peters was one of three new judges named by the Tolerationists.^[1]

Judge Peters remained a member of the court until after the retirement of Judge Hosmer. As he was a strong Episcopalian and Tolerationist, it was feared that his prejudices might lead him to sustain certain attacks made in the courts upon funds established for the support of some of the old Congregational societies. His decisions were favorable to the societies. He used to say that the Congregational pastor in one of the towns where he held court, who usually made the opening prayer, never invoked the Divinity for blessings on the judge until after his favor able decision of one of these church cases, after which the pastor regularly and most fervently prayed for "thy sarvant the Judge."^[1]

In May 1834, it was reported that the governor had notified the state senate that following Peters' approaching 70th birthday, he would no longer be legally eligible to serve on the court.^[2]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c Leonard M. Daggett, "The Supreme Court of Connecticut", in The Green Bag, Volume 2 (1890), p. 431-32.
^ "Tuesday, May 13.–Morning", The Hartford Courant (May 19, 1834), p. 2.